Jenkins Hill/Third House - Organiser: Grahame Harris
Leaving the Brook via the dam at just after 9am on a fine cool day, we followed upstream then turned back up a zig-zig towards the firebreak. Halfway up this section one party member realised they had left their car key behind and went back for it. It was arranged that the rest of the party would continue on to the point where the gorse encroached heavily, and wait there while the leader hacked the trail clear with the (t)rusty old machete he had brought with him. As it turned out someone had already done most of the job. We waited quite some time for the last member before it was decided that one person would go back and find out what was wrong, then come back around the other way to meet us. Thank you Arthur for volunteering. It turned out that the meeting arrangements had been too vague, and the catch-up tramper had concluded that they had gone wrong and turned back - just over the other side of the raise from where the party was waiting! Such are the hazards of an easy trip in the backyard. If it had been a harder or more remote trip the arrangements would probably have been sorted out much more carefully. Then on to the clearing near the top of Jenkins Hill for the view and a snack, and entered the bush to circle back to Third House. We eventually met Arthur at the lookout overlooking the Roding Valley for a late lunch. Some preferred to continue on to Third House to dine in the sun. After lunch it was a steady walk down the old tramway and the steep Cummins Spur descent to the creek, which we followed back to the cars, arriving shortly after 3pm.. The party was: Arthur Jonas, Jenny Revell with Mikiyo and Fumi, Alison and David Nicoll, Mary Honey, Dan McGuire, Trevor Hunt, Tony Haddon, Gretchen Williams, and Grahame Harris.